Even after Gov. Rick Perry stripped funding for the agency that prosecutes state public corruption cases, his emissaries worked to swap the resignation of embattled Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg for restoration of the money, several sources told The Texas Tribune this week.

The Tribune learned of the proposal as a grand jury considers whether Perry overstepped his authority last year when he threatened to veto the public integrity unit’s state funding if Lehmberg did not step down after she was arrested for drunken driving. The sources said the offer was made to Lehmberg through several back channels ...

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Democrats do not approve of her behavior. Just as you Robbie would approve of a Republican doing wrong, making a mistake. The "representatives", if called to testify, have to tell the truth though , under oath or commit perjury.

We couldn't get that proven idiot Bush stopped, but hopefully this will finish off Perry. Now if the Dems were just smart enough to hire Nugent to do pro Abbott commercials with his arms around a bunch of children....

Never say never - look what Edwin Edwards did in Louisiana, served 10 years. Never know in cutthroat politics, Tea PARTIERS or Republicans (whichever Perry is not) might want to ruin his chances of running or being appointed to anything.

Many of us--I personally in a newspaper sponsored blog--called for D.A. Lehmberg to resign even though it meant The Imperial Perry would be able to put his own personal rooster in the hen house so to speak.

No doubt he would have loved to have his man in charge of Public Integrity as he meanders his way across the fruited planes in the name of spreading the word of the "Texas miracle" on the backs of Texas taxpayers and out of office.

An interesting development. The fact that Perry is alleged to have bribed the old girl.

But you don't have anything of interest to say I suppose. Hearsay in the form of say an email is evidence. We'll see what surfaces.

I can't imagine Travis DA Rosemary Lundberg being so incensed by the offer of a ridiculous plea deal by the Gov. Rick Perry. Isn't this what DA's do daily to citizens accused of crimes, usually before even presenting the state's evidence for prosecution through discovery?

If that did occur and it can be proven, I think Perry or someone in his office willing to sit on the grenade is in trouble. The veto is politics, coming back after the fact and offering state money in return for an action can be a problem.

So… if I understand this article correctly, District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was convicted of a DUI and served half of a 45 day sentence. After watching the video of her behavior after her arrest, to say that she behaved badly while in custody would be polite. I find it laughable that this woman still has her job and hysterical that she heads up the agency that prosecutes state public corruption. I am wondering about the powers that be that would allow her to keep that position after her very public downfall. Could it be that she would be willing to look the other way for friends and members of her own political party? I only say this as the article mentions Democrats and Republicans in a case that should be about integrity of the office…not politics. One wonders…if the woman was Republican, would Democrats be trying to unseat her from this position by any possible means….Absolutely and they SHOULD. Rosemary Lehmberg compromised herself and proved that she is corrupt by prosecuting other Texans all while committing a crime herself. This should say to the public that she believes that the law applies to some, but not others. She cannot be trusted with a position of power over others. She has exhibited poor judgment….in a very public way. Neither Republicans nor Democrats need that kind of person in any office. As Texans we should require a higher standard for all our public officials, not just the ones affiliated with our political party of choice.

Thanks for pointing that out Larry...it has been a long time since I looked up corruption in the dictionary. :)

I was thinking that definition 1a applied best..., impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle :depravity

If we are sticking to dictionary definitions then bribery (which someone mentioned was Perry's indiscretion) seems to fall under 1c...inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means. I didn't see where it mentioned in the article that Gov. Perry tried to induce wrong doing, so I'll have to wait for the story on that one. I also notice that someone mentioned extortion...so I looked it up, but that didn't fit either. In case you are wondering, I do think Governor Perry is using his office to apply political pressure to get rid of Rosemary Lehmberg...guess we will find out if he did anything unlawful soon enough. Either way...we shouldn't tolerate wrong doing from our elected or appointed officials.

Just in case you want to check out the word corruption for yourselves.

cor·rup·tion\k?-?r?p-sh?n\noun: dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers): the act of corrupting someone or something: something that has been changed from its original formFull Definition1 a :impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle :depravityb :decay, decompositionc :inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means (as bribery)d :a departure from the original or from what is pure or correct2 archaic :an agency or influence that corrupts3 chiefly dialect :pus

Unlike some of the towering intellects commenting on this article, including those who have access to a dictionary, THE LAW makes a distinction between Rosemary Lehmberg's DWI and Rick Perry's coercion/ retaliation. As legal matters, they are two separate legal matters. Dwell on that a minute. Many of you don't seem to understand it. Sorry for sounding so condescending, but, really. Two separate legal matters.

Lehmberg plead guilty to DWI, was convicted, and sentenced to jail for 15 times longer than what the average first-time DWI offender receives. She served her sentence without special priviledges, and was eligible for early release (just as anyone else would be). A court case sought to remove her from office, but there were no legal grounds to do so. I encourage those of you who have such a hard time with that concept to read that again until you understand it. There was no legal basis to remove her from office. It was attempted, and it failed. There was no legal basis to remove her from office.

It seems that our esteemed governor, eager to put his own man in about the only remaining office in the state that he doesn't control, got out in front of his better sense, and attempted to coerce her resignation. She called his bluff. He sought to work a back-room deal, and to effectively bribe her resignation. She refused.

A third party called foul, a Republican judge reviewed the complaint and appointed a Special Prosecutor, a man said to be respected for his impartiality, but closely associated with the dominant political party in this state. The Special Prosecutor found reasons for "concern." He was not asked to assert his opinion about Lehmberg's DWI; that matter is already settled. He was asked to examine the governor's actions related to funding the PUI . He found the governor's conduct to be a matter for "concern."

Lehmberg attempted to abuse the power of her office, but Travis County deputies and the Sheriff would have none of it, and she paid.

Perry apparently attempted to abuse the power of his office. Many of you seem to be OK with that. I hope Perry's actions are given a full and impartial scrutiny, to alleviate the concerns of the Special Prosecutor.